Buffeted Bezuidenhout posts maiden Tour victory

Updated: October 14, 2016

Christiaan Bezuidenhout survived what he called the toughest five-hole stretch of his career on Friday before he broke through to take his maiden Sunshine Tour victory in the R700,000 Sun Fish River Sun Challenge.He was buffeted by winds gusting up to 55 kilometres per hour as he made a double-bogey on 10 and followed that with two bogeys in succession on the next two holes, before storming home with a birdie on 15, eagle on 16, par on 17 and birdie on 18 to trump Danie van Tonder by two strokes.
‘I knew it was going to be tough when I saw the wind turn on us this morning,’ he said. ‘I knew I had to stay patient because there were going to be bad shots hit and bogeys made. So just kept myself going.’
He had a great start, leaping put ahead of Jason Viljoen and Toby Tree, with whom he shared the 36-hole lead, with a pair of birdies on the opening two holes. ‘That helped me get through the tough patches,’ he said.
But things got tough from the sixth hole, where he made what he called a ‘good bogey’. He made another bogey on seven, but things started looking up. ‘I had a good turn with birdies on eight and nine, and then the stretch from 10 to 14 was as tough as I’ve ever played this course.
‘I’ve played this course quite a few times and I had some amateur success on it. I knew if I could get that stretch out of the way with not too much damage, I’d be okay,’ he added.
The damage looked to be terminal when he made double-bogey on 10 and bogeys on 11 and 12. But then came the surge. ‘I hit a great seven-iron to about three feet for birdie on 15,’ he said, ‘and then, with 16 playing downwind, all I had to do was find the fairway. I hit a great three-wood down there and hit a seven-iron to about two feet and made the eagle. I told myself to just hang on at that point.’
With the strong wind, most players were cutting the corner of the dogleg 18th and going for the green, but Bezuidenhout elected to play conservatively to protect his lead. It turned out well for him as he hit his approach from the middle of the fairway to five feet and made the putt for birdie to stretch his lead to two.
From the very first Sunshine Tour tournament of 2016, the BMW SA Open, where he finished runner-up to Brandon Stone, Bezuidenhout has looked for all the world a winner.
Getting that win under his belt in his first full season on the Sunshine Tour feels particularly sweet. ‘One of my goals was definitely to win an event,’ he said. ‘I’ve had a few chances so far and just couldn’t get the job done, so I’m glad to tick the box now.’